Demand for AI skills is surging while the wider market stays cautious. Accenture found that demand for AI skills rose by nearly 200% in a year, with London accounting for 80% of AI-related job postings and close to two-thirds of all UK technology vacancies The Register (Accenture data). That concentration tells you where the work is and how competitive it has become.
The picture is uneven. Against a subdued 2025 economy, businesses held back on broad hiring but kept spending on specialist skills. Computer Weekly points to clear demand hotspots in AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security Computer Weekly (tech recruitment outlook 2026). Official figures echo the pull toward technical work: the ONS reports the largest volume increase in vacancies came from professional, scientific and technical activities, up by 5,000 in the three months to October 2025 ONS – Vacancies and jobs in the UK: November 2025.
So the market is not slow everywhere. It is precise. Firms are opening fewer, sharper roles and looking for people who can do specialist work from day one.
Agentic AI, meaning systems that plan and act toward a goal with limited human input, needs a specific mix of people. Start with the analysts and architects who shape it. IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, a group of around 193,000 workers, sit among the occupations in critical demand, with three of five indicators flagged critical in 2025 Occupations in demand 2025, Explore Education Statistics, GOV.UK. These are the people who decide what an agent should do and where it fits.
Then there is the safety layer. Cyber security matters more when software can act on its own. The UK cyber workforce stands at roughly 143,000 people, with growth accelerating from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024 Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2025 - GOV.UK. Even so, hiring stays hard: 70% of cyber firms reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy AI Labour Market Survey 2025 (Gardiner & Theobald), GOV.UK / publishing.service.gov.uk. Data and AI engineering roles round out the core team.
The most striking shift is at the entry level. Adzuna has recorded a 30% drop in UK entry-level job postings since ChatGPT launched, and graduates face the toughest market since 2018 techUK – What's actually happening with entry-level and graduate jobs?. The tech sector cut graduate jobs by 46% in a year, with a further 53% drop projected, according to the Institute of Student Employers The Register. Firms are buying experience, not potential, at least for now.
There is a route back in, though. Apprenticeships have grown from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. That is one way firms are rebuilding a pipeline while chasing senior specialists.
First, define the role before you post it. Agentic AI is a team sport, so be clear whether you need an architect to shape systems, an engineer to build them, a data specialist to feed them or a security professional to govern them. Vague briefs attract the wrong people and slow everything down.
Second, look close to home. For engineering roles, the vast majority of new hires come from the resident labour force, which points to low reliance on international recruitment GOV.UK - Professionals in IT and engineering. Top firms can and do pay sizeable wages to skilled migrants for the scarcest skills Professionals in IT and Engineering (Migration Advisory Committee), GOV.UK / publishing.service.gov.uk, but most teams can build from the UK workforce if they search widely enough.
Third, keep an eye on how the market moves. The KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs tracks demand and availability month by month KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs June 2026, and it helps you time an offer and set expectations. And with London holding most AI postings The Register (Accenture data), firms outside the capital can win by widening their reach and offering flexible, remote-friendly roles.
Finally, move quickly. Specialist people rarely stay on the market long, so a slow process loses good people. Clear scope, a fast decision and a genuine reason to join beat a drawn-out interview loop every time.
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